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Imagine growing a home from living trees instead of building a home from wood. Mitchell Joachim, at the MIT Media Lab's Smart Cities Group, along with ecological engineer Lara Greden and architect Javier Arbona, have proposed a system of homes that are actually a living ecosystem.
Joachim's vision is based on a gardening method known as pleaching, which involves weaving branches together to form living lattice(格子) walls. Since the growth patterns of trees are affected by wind and sunlight, it may be possible to manipulate the way a tree develops.
This idea is an extreme, yet simple and beautiful, form of green building. Not only does it not cause direct harm to the environment, but it is actually part of the environment. The house, which is a network of trees, would clean the air and also provide a home for animals and birds. "Not only does it do zero damage, but it will hopefully clean the air," says Joachim.
"A 100 percent treehouse would take years to create," Joachim said. Depending on the climate, a house could take anywhere from 5 to 30 years to grow. Fortunately, there's a way to speed up the process.
Ecological materials, Joachim suggests, should be included in the housing designs. For example, windows can be made from soy－based plastics that would flex (折曲) with the home as it grows.
So what happens when a home and the great outdoors are one and the same? A home would become an actual ecosystem, a community of plants, animals, and bacteria working together. The trees would also give off water vapor that would assist in cooling the homes. Solar panels and wind would help provide energy. Straw and clay could be used to insulate(使绝缘) the structures. The tree homes might even have soil pockets, where plants could grow from the structure itself.
Joachim's project is called MatScape, designing a house in California that will be constructed from 50% recycled and 50% living elements. He sees it as an experimental step toward the final living house.
57．The best title for this passage would be______.
A．Trees Find Its New Use B．Scientists Create New Houses
C．Grow Your Home Out of Trees D．People Begin Living in Trees
58．The underlined word "manipulate" in Paragraph Two can be best replaced by .
A．build B．influence C．weave D．provide
59．It can be inferred from this passage that__________.
A．treehouses will replace traditional buildings
B．pollution problem will be solved once for all
C．many Californians may be building their own treehouses
D．some ecological materials may move as the house grows
60．If this passage is continued, what would probably be discussed?
A．A final living house. B．Joachim's MatScape project.
C．More information about pleaehing. D．Some more ecological materials.
Watson entered Mr. Smith’s office. The Boss was a hard man. He fired people who didn’t do well without giving them a second chance.
“Watson,” said Mr. Smith, “this past year your department hasn’t earned money. We’re going to drop that department. It’s finished. I’ m sorry, —but you’ll have to go.” “But, sir—if I just had a little more time. For the moment I need the job to keep my son at Riverside School.”
“What’s that!” said the Boss. “Riverside! I didn’t know you had a boy there. That’s an expensive school for a man with your salary.”
“I know, sir. But he likes it there so much! He’s a star trackman（田径运动员） and the best boxer in the school. The boys call him Champ（冠军） there.”
The Boss sat perfectly still for a long time—a faraway （恍惚的） look in his eyes. Then, suddenly, he said, “We’ve got to close your department, Watson. But you’ll take over a new job in another department. It means longer hours—maybe more pay. Now get out. You’re here for life.”
Watson got out, with surprise in his face. Then the Boss took a letter from the top drawer of his desk. It was Herbie’s last letter from Riverside School —written a few days before he died. He had read it over and over again with sick pain. The letter read: I can’t say the boys here are any nicer to me than the others were. I guess it’s the same everywhere when you’re a cripple (跛脚的人). But don’t worry about me, Dad. They’ve got a good chemistry department here. And there’s one boy here who is really great. He’s a track star and boxing champ and just tops in chemistry. The boys call him Champ. He made them stop throwing my books around. And he knocked a boy down who hit me. He is the best friend I ever had. Dad, when I grow up, I want to do something for Champ. Something big—that he won’t even know about.
Your son, HerbieThe underlined word “drop” in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by ________.
| A．fall | B．close | C．punish | D．sell |
It can be inferred from the text that Champ is_______.
| A．Watson’ s son | B．Mr Smith’ s son |
| C．a teacher of Mr Smith’s son | D．the son of Mr Smith’s friend |
From the text we know that Herbie_______.
| A．was a college student | B．didn’t live to grow up |
| C．made friends with many boys | D．died from a car accident |
Watson was given a second chance because_______.
| A．Mr Smith wanted to help Watson’s son |
| B．a man was needed in another department |
| C．Herbie told Mr Smith to do so in his letter |
| D．Mr Smith wanted to realize his son’s dream |
Microblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging. A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically much smaller, in both actual size and aggregate file size. Microblogs “allow users to exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, individual images, or video links”.
As with traditional blogging, microbloggers post about topics ranging from the simple, such as "what I'm doing right now," to the thematic(主题的), such as "sports cars.” Commercial microblogs also exist, to promote (促进) websites, services and/or products, and to promote collaboration within an organization.
Some microblogging services offer features such as privacy settings, which allow users to control who can read their microblogs, or other ways of publishing rights besides entering the web-based interface.(界面) These may include text messaging, E-mail, or digital audio.
The first microblogs were known as tumblelogs. The term was invented in a blog post on April 12, 2005. However, by 2006 and 2007, the term microblog came into greater usage for such services provided by Tumbler and Twitter. Other leading social networking websites Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and XING also have their own microblogging features, better known as status updates.
Several studies, especially by Harvard Business School have tried to analyze the usage behavior of Microblogging services. Many of these studies show that for services such as Twitter, there is a small group of active users contributing to most of the activity.
Twitter, Facebook and other microblogging services are also becoming a platform for marketing and public relations, with a sharp growth in the number of social media marketers. The Sysomos study shows that this specific group of marketers on Twitter is much more active than general user population, with 15% following more than 2,000 people.Why is a microblog different from a traditional blog?
| A．Because a microblog doesn’t include pictures, but a traditional blog does. |
| B．Because a microblog doesn’t include videos, but a traditional blog does. |
| C．Because a microblog has smaller contents than a traditional blog in actual and total file size. |
| D．Because a microblog can only be written on the cell-phones. |
Microblogging can protect the following privacy EXCEPT_______.
| A．deciding the readers of the microblogs |
| B．allowing readers to publish their views |
| C．readers’ deleting what a microblog says |
| D．deciding whether readers can enter it |
We can infer from the passage that______.
| A．microbloggers always post about the thematic topics instead of the simple ones |
| B．microblogging has developed so quickly and brought the owners more and more benefits. |
| C．microblogging protects both the owners’ and the readers’ privacy |
| D．the studies by Harvard Business School have analyzed the usage of microblogging services |
When a child is told he is "uncool", it can be very painful. He may say he doesn't care, and even act in ways that are opposite of cool on purpose. But ultimately, these are simply ways to handle sadness by pretending it's not there.
Helping a child feel better in school had to be careful. If you say, "Why are you worried about what other children think about you? It doesn't matter!" Children know that it does matter. Instead, an active way may be best. You could say, "I'm going to do a couple of things for you to help you feel better in school."
If a boy is having trouble making friends, the teacher can help him. The teacher can arrange things so that he has chances to use his abilities to contribute to class projects. This is how the other children learn how to value his good qualities and to like him. A teacher can also raise a child's popularity in the group by showing that he values that child. It even helps to put him in a seat next to a very popular child, or let him be a partner with that child in activities, etc.
There are things that parents can do at home, too. Be friendly when your child brings others home to play. Encourage him to invite friends to meals and then serve the dishes they consider "super". When you plan trips, picnics, movies, and other shows, invite another child with whom your child wants to be friends.
What you can do is to give him a chance to join a group that may be shutting him out. Then, if he has good qualities, he can start to build real friendship of his own.A child who has been informed of being "uncool" may ________.
| A．care nothing about it | B．develop a sense of anger |
| C．do something uncool purposely | D．pretend to get hurt very much |
A teacher can help an unpopular child by ________.
| A．seeing the child as the teacher's favourite |
| B．asking the child to do something for partners |
| C．forcing other children to make friends with the child |
| D．offering the child chances to show his good qualities |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Children don’t care others' comments on them. |
| B．It's only teacher's work to make children popular. |
| C．Parents should take their children out for picnic and shows more often. |
| D．Inviting children's friends to family activities is good for them to make friends. |
The passage mainly talks about ________.
| A．how to help an unpopular child |
| B．why some children are unpopular |
| C．who is responsible for unpopular children |
| D．how to find out good points of unpopular children |
Mini Book Excerpts（节选）
Biography
When Salinger learned that a car park was to be built on the land, the middle-aged writer was shocked and quickly bought the neighboring area to protect it… The townspeople never forgot the rescue and came to help their most famous neighbor.
J. D. Salinger：A Life by Kenneth Slawenski（Random House,$27）Mystery（疑案小说）
“You’re a smart boy. Benny’s death was no accident, and you’re the only who saw it happen. Do you think the murderer should get away with it?”The boy was starting stubbornly at his lap again.
A thought suddenly occurred to Annika,“Did you …You recognized the man in the car, didn’t you?”
The boy hesitated, twisting his fingers,“Maybe,”he said quietly.
Red Wolf by Liza Marklund（Atria Books, $25. 99）
Short stories
She wants to say to him what she has learned, none of it in class. Some women are born stupid, and some women are too smart for their own good. Some women are born to give, and some women only know how to take. Some women learn who they want to be from their mothers, some who they don’t want to be. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won’t. Some mothers love so their daughters won’t.
You Are Free by DAnzy Senna (Riverhead Books, $15)
Humor
Do your kids like to have fun? Come to Fun Times! Do you like to watch your kids having fun? Bring them to Fun Times! Fun Times! “amusement cycling”is the most fun you can have, legally, in the United States right now. Why spend thousands of dollars flying to Disney World when you can spend less than half to that within a day’s drive lf most cities?
Happy and Other Bad Thoughts by Larry Doyle（Ecco,$14. 99）If the readers want to know about the title of Salinger, they should buy the book published by
.
| A．Ecco | B．Atria Books |
| C．Riverhead Books | D．Random House |
The book Happy and Other Bad Thoughts is intended for .
| A．young children | B．Disney World workers |
| C．middle school teachers | D．parents with young children |
Which book describes women with characters of their own?
A. Happy And Other Bad Thoughts
B. J. D. Salinger: A Life
C. You Are Free
D. Red WolfAfter finishing the book Red Wolf, the readers would learn that .
| A．the boy helped arrest the murderer |
| B．Benny died of an accident |
| C．the murderer got away with the crime |
| D．Annika carried out the crime |
A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy”at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.”
The man replied，“But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail.”
“I’ m sorry，” said the HR manager.“If you don’t have an e-mail，that means , you do not exist. And who doesn’t exist cannot have the job.”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn't know what to do with only ten dollars in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10 kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he managed to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars.
The man realized that he could survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers(销售商) in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker（经纪人）and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an e-mail.”
The broker answered curiously,“You don’t have an e-mail, and yet have managed to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?" The man thought for a while and replied,“Yes，I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”The underlined word “tripled” can be replaced by .
| A．became large | B．became 3 times |
| C．increased quickly | D．decreased quickly |
According to the passage，which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The man is one of the biggest food retailers in the world. |
| B．The man didn’t give up though he failed the interview. |
| C．He started his career by selling tomatoes in the Supermarket. |
| D．Those who have e-mails can work at Microsoft. |
The man can be described as .
| A．helpful and considerate | B．positive and generous |
| C．smart and hardworking | D．stubborn and unselfish |
Which proverb can best describe the story?
| A．Misfortune may be an actual blessing. | B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．Accidents will happen. | D．No pains, no gains. |
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